Thirteen-year-old Cassidy Drake wants nothing more than to race with her best dragon, Ranga, in the annual Great Texas Dragon Race. Her mother was a racing legacy, and growing up on her family’s dragon sanctuary ranch, Cassidy lives and breathes dragons. She knows she could win against the exploitative FireCorp team that cares more about corporate greed than caring for the dragons.
Cassidy is so determined to race that she sneaks out of her house against her father’s wishes and enters the competition. Soon, Cassidy takes to the skies with Ranga across her glorious Lone Star State. But with five grueling tasks ahead of her, dangerous dragon challenges waiting at each one, and more enemies than allies on the course, Cassidy will need to know more than just dragons to survive.
Kacy Ritter is a fantasy geek who has lived all across the Lone Star State. She holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Texas and currently resides in Houston with her partner and their daughter. She daylights as a healthcare professional and loves writing at the intersection of fantasy and Texas Americana.
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter is a fun MG speculative fantasy read with a few critical messages around animal rescue/conservation & realities of income inequality.
My Reading Experience:
I’ll just say it because I know you all are thinking it. I just loved the dragons in this story. And I have at least one nephew who shares my love for all things dragons (and he also happens to like reading – so this book will be among those I buy him for Christmas). Dragons are not magical in this story. A more apt comparison would be to horses – just more deadly. There are rescue farms for them – one of which the main character, Cassidy, has grown up on. And then there are big corporations that misuse and mistreat dragons to come out on top in races. The central conflict of this story is that a big, evil corporation is trying to buy up the dragon rescue that Cassidy’s father owns and runs. The expenses to run one are enormous, and Cassidy believes that the only way her family will be to keep their rescue is for her to run in and win The Great Texas Dragon Race. The winner comes away with $250,000 – enough to pay the rescue’s expenses and her grandmother’s hospital bill.
I also loved the diversity in this story – both social and cultural. Even though this is an alternate version of Texas and our country and world, seeing such a diverse cast of characters is still excellent. It also plays into Cassidy pulling together such a diverse group of riders and the more profound meaning underlying that.
And the race! I just loved the race. It’s full of puzzles and dangerous challenges that kept me happily engrossed in the story and made it hard to put down. It has a slight Hunger Games feel, which I will always enjoy.
Characters:
All characters – adults and fellow dragon riders – are delightfully and uniquely developed. The bad guys are pretty stereotypical – totally the mustache-twirling type – but the good guys and my particular favorites – the characters that start out one way and have a realization that fundamentally changes them – all came alive and found a place in my heart.
Cassidy is quite a little firecracker of a young teen. At thirteen, she solidly formed opinions on right and wrong. She hasn’t matured enough to recognize those pesky gray areas. Still, I loved her passion and determination to make the world better. I especially loved her respect for animals (dragons) and her understanding of letting them live the life that nature intends rather than the domesticated lives humans try to mold them to. Her dragon is her friend, and she always tries to bolster Ranga’s courage and abilities.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
| Originality | 8 |
| Writing Quality | 10 |
| Pace | 6 |
| Character Development | 8 |
| ‘Couldn’t Put It Down’-ness | 6 |
| Setting | 10 |
13 responses to “The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter #BookReview #GiftIdea #MG #Fantasy”
Sounds an exciting read, shame it gets a little complex, great review 😊
Usually MG books gently guide you into the world-building. It shocked me that this just kind of threw the reader into it, you know? But there are good messages. And, well – dragons! 😁
This has so many fun elements! I’m so glad you enjoyed it
It does! I would love to race a dragon.
Same!
You know how I feel about dragons, so this would be a sure thing for me. Hope your nephew enjoys it!
I do too. I gave him a different one that I reviewed last year and he loved it so much that my sister got him the next one in the series.
This would be perfect for my 12-year old nephew!! Wonderful review, Tessa💜 He’s got a birthday coming up.
I think he’d love the race aspect of it and, of course, the dragons 😁
Sounds a great read, dragons being real in the story and brilliant characters.
It is a very good middle grades story 💕
This sounds fun middle grade story. Great review!
This sounds like a lot of fun, Tessa. I think my grandson would enjoy this one. Wonderful review.